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Scarless excision of an insertion sequence restores capsule production and virulence in Acinetobacter baumannii Vrije Universiteit Brussel University of Antwerp

Clémence Whiteway, Adam Valcek, Chantal Philippe, Mojca Strazisar, Tim De Pooter, Ivan Mateus, Anke Breine, Charles Van der Henst

We identify a new mechanism mediating capsule production and virulence in the WHO and CDC priority ESKAPE pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. Non-capsulated and avirulent bacteria can revert into a capsulated and virulent state upon scarless excision of an ISAba13 insertion sequence under stress conditions. Reversion events fully restore capsule production and in vivo virulence. This increases our knowledge about A. baumannii genome dynamics, ...

Young and century-old biochars strongly affect nutrient cycling in a temperate agroecosystem Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Victor Burgeon, Julien Fouché, Sarah Garré, Ramin Heidarian Dehkordi, Gilles Colinet, Jean-Thomas Cornelis
Biochar as a soil amendment is often described as a promising agricultural practice for climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, while recent research showed limited effects of biochar in temperate regions, its long-term impacts on nutrient management in-situ have been overlooked. Here we studied charcoal residues from pre-industrial kiln sites as a proxy to determine the effects of century-old biochar (~200 years old) on nutrient ...

A fast pace-of-life is traded off against a high thermal performance. KU Leuven

Nedim Tüzün, Robby Stoks
The integration of life-history, behavioural and physiological traits into a 'pace-of-life syndrome' is a powerful concept in understanding trait variation in nature. Yet, mechanisms maintaining variation in 'pace-of-life' are not well understood. We tested whether decreased thermal performance is an energetic cost of a faster pace-of-life. We characterized the pace-of-life of larvae of the damselfly Ischnura elegans from high-latitude and ...

Thermal plasticity and evolution shape predator-prey interactions differently in clear and turbid water bodies KU Leuven

Nedim Tüzün, Robby Stoks
Warming and eutrophication negatively affect freshwater ecosystems by modifying trophic interactions and increasing water turbidity. We need to consider their joint effects on predator-prey interactions and how these depend on the thermal evolution of both predator and prey. We quantified how 4°C warming and algae-induced turbidity (that integrates turbidity per se and increased food for zooplankton prey) affect functional response parameters ...

Residential green space, gardening, and self-reported stress and depression: a cross-sectional study of garden owners in northern Belgium KU Leuven

Raf Aerts, Ben Somers
Urban green spaces and the biodiversity therein have been associated with human health and well-being benefits, but the contribution of domestic gardens to those benefits is insufficiently known.Using data from a cross-sectional sample (n=587) of domestic garden owners in Flanders and Brussels (northern Belgium), associations between residential green space quality in and around domestic gardens, green space related activities and socioeconomic ...

Effects of climate variability on the demography of wild geladas KU Leuven

Hans Jacquemyn
Nonhuman primates are an essential part of tropical biodiversity and play key roles in many ecosystem functions, processes, and services. However, the impact of climate variability on nonhuman primates, whether anthropogenic or otherwise, remains poorly understood. In this study, we utilized age-structured matrix population models to assess the population viability and demographic variability of a population of geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in ...